In certain processes like a liquid chromatography process used in biopharmaceutical production, it is desirable to remove bubbles or gases held up in a fluid flowing through the process path. Often, such gases get entrained in a fluid stream and should be removed to prevent them from being pumped into a chromatography column. The bubble trap also aids in removal of air initially present in the fluid path. Undesirable gases in the column can disrupt flow patterns, prevent process consistency and effectiveness and cause other problems. A bubble trap is commonly used to systematically remove such gases.
Due to the stringent quality and purity requirements in many biopharmaceutical processes, contemporary bubble traps must be cleaned and/or thoroughly sanitized before they can be reused. Also, due to the high pressures involved in many chromatography processes, the bubble trap vessels must be durable and well constructed, and therefore relatively expensive. It is thus not cost effective to dispose of such expensive vessels after a single or very limited uses.
When a piece of equipment is used for manufacture or development of products and limited equipment downtime is desired, there would be advantages to eliminate the necessity of a cleaning process for the bubble-trap. One way to do this is by having a disposable liner that can meet the requirements of the process. This includes being able to perform at pressure of 8 bar or higher.
It is therefore desirable to provide a bubble trap assembly that can be quickly and easily ready for reuse, while ensuring a clean, sterile or uncontaminated process between uses. Also, such an assembly must also be able to perform under pressures at least as high as 8 bars.